Dive Pros: Do you "hide" that you solo dive?

[vkalia]

I dont hide it - in fact, I actually make it part of my briefing.

My rationale is that as they gain experience, they'll learn that people solo dive anyway. With all the bullbleep floating around, I'd rather their first experience be a reasonably balanced one.

My spiel is roughly: Virtually all diving accidents involving recreational divers these days have buddy separation as a factor. The lesson - dive with a buddy and you really improve your chances of safety <here we review all the things that can go wrong, what to do and how a good buddy can help>. However, a lot of people, myself included, enjoy diving alone. There is more risk, yes - but some of it can be reduced by preparation, and some of it is a matter of personal choice. I know those risks and I choose to take them - right now, as beginners, you dont. When you have a lot more experience, and know the risks, then you can decide what to do with your life. For now, dont even think about it. And keep in mind that despite my experience, I've come close to being a stat while diving alone.

This puts solo diving in perspective. I like to treat my students like adults.

Vandit

 

[Jai Bar]

Unfortunately, here in Israel, diving without a buddy is against the law!

Diving solo is a misdemeanor in our country, which can lead to prosecution. There are a few inspectors which are supposed to enforce the law.

So when I dive solo I feel like a thief, choosing remote dive sites where there are fewer chances to meet divers (or inspectors, for that matter), diving at odd hours etc.

But the thing that most p!sses me off, is wearing the wetsuit alone. Next suit I'll buy one either with front zippers or without any at all

 

[JustinW]

From a liability perspective, I wonder what would happen if (heaven forbid) a certified diver injures themselves and in the investigation it comes to light that solo diving was advocated in the class and that the instructor talked about doing it themselves. I wonder if a lawyer could somehow translate that as negligence, especially if when mentioned it was not discussed in depth enough to qualify a diver for a solo certification. Not saying I think it would happen, but I wonder if it could.

 

[Goose75]

From a liability perspective, I wonder what would happen if (heaven forbid) a certified diver injures themselves and in the investigation it comes to light that solo diving was advocated in the class and that the instructor talked about doing it themselves. I wonder if a lawyer could somehow translate that as negligence, especially if when mentioned it was not discussed in depth enough to qualify a diver for a solo certification. Not saying I think it would happen, but I wonder if it could.

I'm sure they would exploit any information that sounds bad in court.

 

[naui 15694]

I was an Instructor in the early 90's before people talked about it. I would solo dive when penetrating wrecks. Our group took a penetration course. I was also part of an S&R team where we had to dive solo on calls.

Most people knew what we did, but we did not take less experienced divers out to these wrecks so they did not see it. I did not discuss it when teaching. I was offered a teaching job by a local diveshop that did not like the practice. The money was good, but they wanted me to sign something saying I would only dive by their book (list of do's and don'ts), which included no solo diving. I turned them down.

A funny related story. I went on a trip sponsored by that shop to NC. My buddy was from my wreck diving group. My buddy and I split up shortly after hitting the bottom. The trip leader went nuts when we got back on the boat. He went on about us being unsafe and corrupting his new divers. Never mind that two of these guys pointed spear guns at me during the dive. (Point first then look)

Anyhow we agreed to dive together the rest of the trip. It was their trip and if that was what they want then fine. I felt they overreacted because we taught for a competitor of theirs. Show how unsafe the other shop was.

The next day two of his hot shots hit the boat with the bends (or so they thought) Looking at their profile I could not believe that they got bent after 1 short dive. One guy had a sore shoulder. They put him on O2 and he thought he felt better. A few minutes later another guy saw the first guy on O2 and said that he thought he had a sore back and he went on o2. I knew I should not, but when it was all over and the guys were ok, I laughed until I cried.